Park Chung-hee

Park Chung-hee (14 November 1917-26 October 1979) was President of South Korea from 17 December 1963 to 26 October 1979, succeeding Yun Posun and preceding Choi Kyu-hah. He seized power in a 1961 military coup, serving as Chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction from 3 July 1961 until his assumption of the presidency on 17 December 1963. He oversaw economic growth, but was also excessively authoritarian, and Park himself was assassinated during a coup in 1979.

Biography
Park Chung-hee was born into a poor family in Kameo, Japanese Korea (now Gumi, South Korea) in 1917. He became a primary school teacher in 1937, and, during World War II, he went to Manchuria and received training at the Manchukuo as well as the Japanese Military Academy. After the war, he went to South Korea to enlist in the Korean Constabulary, which was soon transformed into teh armed forces. As one of the army's senior members he led the May 1961 military coup. He formed a military junta, and in 1963 had himself formally elected President. While maintaining a politically illiberal regime, he encouraged industrial development and educational reforms. From 1971 to 1972, he changed the constitution to the Yushin ("Revitalizing Reform") rule. This created a fully authoritarian government. He banned all anti-government activities, while many intellectuals were arrested and killed. He proclaimed martial law in 1972 and was then re-elected twice in 1972 and 1978. His government not only became increasingly authoritarian, but also increasingly corrupt. He was assassinated by the head of the South Korean Central Intelligence Agency, Chun Doo-hwan, at a banquet in 1979. His daughter, Park Geun-hye, would serve as President of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, only to be impeached for corruption.